Prangl supplies 56 cranes for refinery inspection
11 July 2017 by Sotiris KanarisPrangl has supplied 56 cranes, including its 1,000t Terex AC1000, to assist the general inspection of OMV’s Schwechat refinery.
General inspection at the refinery (turnaround) has to be carried out every six years. This time, in addition to the maintenance and inspection of the plants, projects were implemented to update and guarantee the sustainable operation of the refinery.
The focus of the 2017 turnaround work was on the inspection of the petrochemical plants. The products produced in these plants are raw materials for the production of plastics at the neighbouring company, Borealis.
The Prangl specialists were on-site with a total of 45 telescopic cranes, 11 loader cranes, 25 forklift trucks and telehandlers, three tractor units and a 50m truck-mounted work platform.
The centrepiece of the whole 2017 turnaround was undoubtedly the 1,000t yellow telescopic crane, the heaviest in Austria. It was used when replacing the top of the column in the “HDS 3 splitter” plant because of its unparalleled lateral range. After all, it had to overcome a reach of 60m at a height of 70m with a lifting weight of 10t.
“No other equipment could have been used because of the limited setup space and the need to keep the road clear. It is the top of its class with the split structure of the main boom that is assembled on-site. Alternative concepts would have needed to be set up above a pipe used in operation, which OMV would have rejected for safety reasons,” said Prangl.
